Breaking Even by Lily Bishop Read Free Book Online Page A

night after studying
together, he leaned across and kissed her on the cheek.
    She had wanted the kiss, wanted to believe
that she had gotten over her aversion to being touched. Unfortunately, she felt
nothing. Ben didn't make any other moves. In his defense, she didn't encourage
him, and nothing had progressed. She had landed solidly in the friend zone.
Again.
    When Ric had kissed her, something had
opened up inside her like a dam breaking. Passion had cracked her shell, and
need had rushed through her every fiber. How could she convince Ric that Ben
wasn’t any competition anymore? Either Ric will deal with it or he won’t.
    She wondered how long Ben had known about
his uncle’s bar. He hadn’t told Lindsey until after she returned from Calliope.
Now she thought it odd that he hadn’t mentioned the bar when she first said she
was moving to Clemson. Maybe at that point everything wasn't finalized.
    She had invited him out with a group of
her friends from the dorm one night the week before finals. His sister couldn’t
make it that night, so he came out alone.
    When she had mentioned she was moving to
Clemson, he had suggested they share an apartment. Lindsey didn’t believe him
at first, but the more they talked, she realized he was serious. He needed a
break from school and didn’t want to start graduate school right away. Now,
with all this talk about a bar, she thought that must have been in the works
already. Otherwise, it seemed too random.
    Speaking of random, Lindsey had way too
many boxes. She would have to cut some of the books and leave them in Laura’s
closet. She took the two boxes of paperbacks and left those. She could get the
rest in her SUV. She finished stacking boxes by the door just in time.
    She heard a quick knock and opened the
door for Ben. He was wearing jean cut-offs and a Seminoles T-shirt. When he
lifted his sunglasses, his eyes looked bloodshot.
    “Morning. You look rough,” she said.
    He walked past her into the living room.
“I’m fine. Stayed up later than I should have.”
    “With Brittany?” she asked, smirking.
    “No, fighting with Kayla. She’s still mad
at me.”
    Lindsey would never understand the
dynamics of his family. “She’ll get over it.”
    Ben looked away, not meeting her eyes.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked. “I’d like to get some miles behind us before
lunch.”
    “Just a few more things to load.”
    When they loaded everything into the back
of her car, Lindsey took one more look at her bedroom. With the bed stripped
and the personal effects gone, it looked more like a hotel room. She had stored
her remaining items in the closet so Laura could use the room for guests. Since
they had sold the townhouse where she grew up, nothing felt like home anymore.
She didn’t feel the need to preserve anything.
    They hadn’t been on the road long when
Lindsey’s phone rang. She glanced down to see Ric’s picture from the beach
flash up on her screen. She answered, smiling. “Hey, big guy.”
    “I miss you already,” Ric said. “What are
you doing? Packing?”
    “No, we left Miami about thirty minutes
ago.”
    “We?”
    “My new roommate Ben, remember? I’m following
him up in my car.” Lindsey thought her response sounded reasonable, but Ric did
not.
    “You’re driving? Why aren’t you flying?
That’s way too far for you to drive.”
    He had lost his mind. “I can’t leave my
car in Miami. I’ll need it.”
    “You could have paid someone to drive it
for you…”
    Lindsey thought he had lost his mind. “I
don’t live in the kind of world where you would pay someone to drive your car.”
    “I know, but I would have—”
    Lindsey cut him off. She didn’t need him
thinking he had to take care of her. “Ric, it’s fine. It’s easier for me to
drive. We’ll make it in two days without even pushing.”
    “If you say so.” He didn’t sound happy,
but she knew he was just worried.
    “What have you got going on today?” she
asked to change